A few decades ago, the initialism "GF" on a menu could have easily been mistaken for "good food." Nowadays, it is common knowledge that it stands for "gluten-free" — and now, the shorthand adorns restaurant menu items nationwide. This shift in understanding is partly due to the rise in celiac disease, an immune reaction to gluten that causes inflammation and atrophy in the intestines. Coupled with increased awareness and internet access, gluten-free living is no longer just for the health-conscious; rather, celiac disease is an exceedingly common condition whose numbers keep going up every year.
According to Dr. Peter Green, Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, celiac disease has increased fivefold over the past 50 years, with the majority of that occurring in the 1990s. A meta-analysis study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2020 supports this claim, finding that celiac disease has been on the rise throughout the Western world, with higher incidence rates in females and children.
